Heads up - it's a Taurid Swarm year!

This is one of my favorite subjects as you'll know if you've come across my posts before.

What are the Taurids?

Keen meteor observers will be familiar with the Taurids as a meteor shower that occurs from mid October to mid November. The Taurids, like most meteor
showers are caused by small bits of comet as they impact and burn up in our atmosphere. In the case of the Taurids, their parent comet which is
2P/Encke is thought to have once been a part of a giant comet that broke up 20 - 30 kyr ago according to this
source.

The Taurid Complex

Unlike most other meteor showers, it's thought that amongst the mostly dust-sized meteoroids ejected by the parent comet 2P/Encke, there are also
lurger chuncks of comet, produced when the comet broke up. This is the Taurid Complex - an orbiting cloud of dust, with a patchy "core" of larger
objects.

On the other hand, while the orbits of some particles are quite dispersed, it is still likely that the Taurid stream has a narrow and dense core
consisting of particles concentrated near the orbit of the stream's parent object, which is presumably related to Comet 2P/Encke. As the orbits of
the material constituting this narrow, dense core have been subject to perturbations over thousands of years, it may be inferred that intense
bombardment episodes have resulted at epochs when the material reaches Earth intersection. Dynamical calculations show that, as a Taurid-like orbit
precesses, the northern daytime intersection occurs just a little (a few centuries) before the southern nighttime one, and the southern daytime one
just before the northern nighttime one. That is, the four intersections occur in two pairs, and the influx of material to Earth is enhanced during
epochs lasting a few centuries and spaced by a few millennia. The term "coherent catastrophism" has been used by astronomers at Armagh and elsewhere
to describe the idea that there are strong patterns in the influx of extraterrestrial material to Earth.

During swarm years, Earth's orbit takes it closer to the core where large meteoroids are
thought to reside. This year is such a year, and although the miss distance from the core center is relatively large this year (Delta M of -30), we
should expect to see an increase in fireball class Taurid meteors compared to non swarm years.

Observing Taurids

The Taurid meteor shower peaks around the end of the month/start of November. Because it's such an old and "fragmented" shower and the cometary
debris is so widely spread, the shower peak is spread out over a few days, so if you go out and spend some time looking once it's dark around the
start of November, you'll see some actual Taurid meteors for yourself. Perhaps even a bright fireball or two if you watch for long enough.

They are very distinctive, since they all have very low entry velocities compared to other meteor showers, and the meteors are often pure white
(although they can also show other colors too). As a bonus, the best time to observe them is just after midnight local time wherever you are, unlike
the better known showers like the Leonids, Perseids and Geminids which are most active just before dawn. Taurid meteors can be seen throughout the
night, from the moment the light starts to fade till the first light of dawn.

The one downside, is that rates are usually quite low. You can expect to see perhaps 8-10 every hour in a good year under ideal conditions.
Realistically, expect to only see perhaps 4-5 per hour during peak. However, despite the low numbers, individual meteors can be spectacular, and more
than make up for the lack in quantity! Just to prove it, here is footage of one from NASA's
2001 Leonid MAC mission

Speculation

There has been speculation that the Taurid Complex has caused major cataclysms in the past. Some even think it may have
destroyed an advanced civilization living on Mars. It has also been suggested that Tunguska was caused by a
fragment of comet from the Taurid complex.

Thoughts on the subject

I love this time of year. Taurid meteors are spectacular to watch, and I always look forward to seeing them. This year is a very good chance to
observe and photograph the Taurids at their best. The Taurids are actually quite easy to photograph and film, since they are often bright and very
slow compared to other meteor showers , so give it a try.

Thanks for the heads up, always nice to get outside and marvel at the beauty of the cosmos. Not often i get to actually see frequent meteors, even
during showers, due to living in the suburbs, but hopefully will be able to this time.

Many thanks Under dweller! There are many great spots along the beach here to see that on a clear night! No background lights what so ever, its pure
darkness over ocean!
Going to be checking that out this year.. Thanks again for the heads up!

I spend alot of time outside on nice evenings here in Florida, and I always catch some shooting stars! I have seen bright flashing blues, greens, and
hot white colors. Its really amazing to see, and sometimes Im thinking, if one of those chucnks are going to be part of something bigger..
Kinda scary, yet fun to do on a cool Florida night and some beers!

The Taurids should be visible wherever you are, but for people at far northern latitudes there won't be quite as many since the Taurid radiant (where
meteors appear to radiate out from) does not climb as high above the horizon.

If you live in a suburb/city, don't let that put you off - some Taurids are bound to be faint and you'll miss those, but in swarm years there should
be a good smattering of bright Taurids that should easily be visible from even the worst light polluted areas. Of course, if you can get away from the
lights of your town/city, do so, as you will see more meteors and have a better experience overall. If you want to try and photograph them it's even
more important to get away from light pollution, although you can still do so if you get a very clear sky and don't mind a bit of light pollution
showing up in your shots.

The trick with meteor observing (especially for those living in more northerly locations), is to keep yourself warm. I like to put on a few layers of
cloths and then jump into a sleeping bag.
You'll also want to lie down flat so that your angle of view takes in as much sky area of possible.

Try and avoid obstructions like trees and buildings that block your view. I use a reclining sun-lounger that also gives me a bit more elevation so
even more sky is visible. Pick a spot where you have the best all round sky view possible, and try to keep any artificial lights out of your vision.
Something to eat or drink is also a good idea, especially when you start to feel a bit drowsy, it can perk you up a bit.

Patience (and/or a bit of luck) will also help - the random nature and unpredictability of meteors often means lulls in activity. If you can ride out
the lulls, then your patience is usually rewarded in my experience. If you can get out for a couple of nights in a row, that will dramatically
increase your chances of seeing something special.

Remember - there are also many other minor meteor showers active at this time of year, so not all meteors you see will be Taurids. In fact, Taurids
are likely to be the minority of meteors you will see, which is a good thing in some respects, since they help pass the time in between Taurids.

PS. No optical aids are needed for observing meteors - you want as wide a field of view as possible, or you risk missing meteors. Having said that,
there are people who observe telescopically for meteors - meteors which would otherwise be difficult to observe with the naked eye, but with a bright
shower like the Taurids you'd be better off with the naked eye.

On some occasions, if you are lucky, a bright meteor will leave a "persistent train" in the sky which can be interesting to observe through binocs,
so I suppose they are worth dusting off just in case

Here are a few recent example photos of trains from this year's Orionids from spaceweather.com :

It has to be said though, it's usually faster meteors like Leonids, Perseids and Orionids that tend to produce trains, so do not be surprised to not
see any from Taurids, although they often leave a nice "wake" instead.

More likely it was an Orionid. The peak was over the weekend. It's been a good year for
Orionids (despite major moonlight interfearence!), and they are still being reported now.

For 3 years in a row now the Orionids have been better than usual - that's a wakeup call if ever I saw one!

I might just have to mount a concerted
observing campaign during next years Orionid shower. One to circle in the diary methinks!

This year could turn out to be very memorable as we are also expecting an outburst of Leonids just after midnight on the night/morning of the
16th/17th November - up to 150 meteor per hour should be visible at peak:

Despite the moon interfering during the Leonid peak, the meteors are predicted to be above average brightness this year, so we could be in for a
treat. The peak is best placed for Europe/Africa/Middle East. 2009 is expected to be even better, and there won't be any moon to interfere.

Anyway, sorry, straying a little OT, but the point I'm trying to get across here is that there are meteor showers active all the time, and throughout
the year. They tend to overlap each other, so various showers are usually active at any given time.

There are at least 4 or 5 other minor showers active right now as well as the Orionids, and the Taurids. By the time the Taurids are tailing off the
Leonids will be active. All of this is on top of the back ground sporadic meteor activity which never ceases.

Saw quite a few tonight, at the drive-in with the kids. They seem to be in every direction, about 5 an hour. One was a horizon-to-horizon fireball in
the west, really awesome sight to see. Down here in South AL we don't get a good show from alot of the showers, unless you get up @3:00 am, so it was
pretty cool to experience it with the kids. We will be looking up more at night, till the moon gets bright again in a week!

Ive spotted 2 fireballs in the past week or so. I had never seen one until October. Now I have seen 3, including the one towards the beginning of
Oct. As an astronomer, I couldnt even begin to tell you how many hours I have spent with my eyes on the sky. Never until this year did I get to
witness this magnificent phenomenon.

I would highly recommend getting out and spending some time looking up.

Like me, you might find yourself sneaking out on all the main shower peaks of the year. I sometimes find myself wondering, what the heck am I doing
out in the middle of nowhere, and then a bright meteor or fireball will come along and remind me why!

I'd give almost anything to be able to see a repeat of the outburst that first got me interested in meteors. I
saw more fireballs in that one night than I've seen in all the years between then and now, and I've seen quite a few in that time.

In about ten days time, we might even get a repeat performance, so keep an eye on the forum as I'll be putting a new thread on the Leonids together
very soon!

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